Origin of Rolls Royce

Rt. Hon. Charles Rolls (L) and Henry Royce (R)

1904 – Rt Hon. Charles Rolls, a posh, entitled man who can’t sell French Panhard cars meets working class engineer Henry Royce in the Midland Hotel, Manchester. Royce bought a French car called the Decauville, but was unimpressed. He took it apart and rebuilt it to his own specifications. The lunch went well and Royce took Rolls out for a drive in his car. The rest as they say is history.

1906 – Silver Ghost launched. It is still the most valuable car in the world today. It had 40 brake horsepower and could do 80 mph. But crucially as well as being of high quality, comfort and luxury, the engine was quiet!

1910 Charles Rolls was killed when his airplane snapped in two and fell to the ground.

Rolls Royce went on to become a byword for luxury and class. It still is. And the company had many links to British aerospace and aeroplanes. Rolls Royce engines helped the Spitfire (along with the Hurricane it has to be said) win the Battle of Britain for the UK against the Luftwaffe, and Rolls Royce also made the engines for that magical plane, the supersonic Concorde.